This invention relates to an easily and safely collapsible seat. More specifically, this invention relates to such a collapsible seat for use, for example, on a cab for heavy industrial machinery or in commercial trucks.
A. PRIOR ART
For many years, collapsible seats have been used in a variety of ways. One such use is on cabs for heavy industrial machinery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,565,695 ("the '695 patent") discloses a collapsible seat for intermittant use by engineers or motormen on the side of a locomotive cab. The seat of the '695 patent has foldable support arms on the underside of the seat. The seat is collapsed by reaching under the seat and manually applying pressure to the support arms to fold the arms and collapse the seat.
These types of collapsible seats have been very popular in the industry, yet their method of collapsing is relatively awkward and time consuming. They require the operator to reach well under the seat in order to fold the legs. Thus, the operator must not only exert substantial effort to collapse the rest, but must also place his or her hands (i) against the load-bearing, folding arms and (ii) in the path of the downwardly descending seat.
Another example of a collapsible seat in the prior art is shown in French Pat. No. 915.461 ("the French Patent"). The French Patent discloses a collapsible seat that is also supported by foldable arms. However, the arms are collapsed not by manually moving the arms, but rather by the operator's rotation of a handle on the underside of the seat immediately adjacent the free, rotating end of the seat. Rotation of the handle simultaneously moves another lever under the seat to force the support arms to fold, thus collapsing the seat.
The mechanism of the French patent is also somewhat difficult and unsafe to use. The trip lever is located under the seat, requiring the operator to place his or her hand in the path of travel for the seat when it collapses. In addition, the protruding trip handle is located in a position where it can be accidentally tripped by, or caught on, the operator, the operator's clothing, or objects past which the seat may pass when mounted on the side of an industrial machine or vehicle.